Steering System Guide – Mustang Restoration Tips

We also upgraded the water pump to further improve cooling. Our car will be located in southern California, where the temperatures can regularly stay over 100 degrees, so we made sure we’d have plenty of cooling capacity. This Edelbrock water pump provides higher flow due to improved impeller design, plus it helps ensure more balanced flow between cylinder banks. The pump components (seals, bearings, etc.) are also heavy-duty parts, which should provide better durability and less potential for leakage. These and similar water pumps are available for most Mustang applications.

A common upgrade for performance is to use a flex fan that flattens out at higher RPM, thus freeing up some engine power. An extended spacer is also usually necessary to get the fan closer to the radiator face, thus improving flow through the radiator core. Flex fans often do not work well at slower speeds, however, and could become a problem in stop-and-go traffic in a hotter climate. A stock fixed blade fan costs a little power but it works better in such conditions. The dual V-belt drive is simple but not the best choice when experiencing higher engine speeds or belt loads.

Using an electric cooling fan is a way to improve cooling under all conditions while freeing up the most power. Electric fans can be turned on at any time based on either a thermostatic setting, actuating an accessory such as the air conditioning, or any number of other options. This ensures the best possible cooling regardless of engine or vehicle speed. It also removes any direct parasitic drag from the engine, thus improving performance. While an electric cooling fan does not retain the stock underhood appearance as much as a fixed blade or flex fan, we felt the significant improvement in cooling under all conditions was worth it. This car also has a serpentine drive belt, which offers numerous improvements over V-belt drives. Serpentine drives are used on modern production vehicles due to their efficiency, stability, and durability.

The original steering system on early Mustangs does not provide the best feel or response, but it can be made to work pretty well with a few fixes. The steering box can be rebuilt, to tighten it up and eliminate excessive play. Newly rebuilt boxes with standard and quicker ratios are also available. Replacing the cloth and rubber steering coupler on the steering shaft typically revitalizes performance. As these couplings age they allow more steering wheel free play and eventually need replacement anyway. The hydraulic power assist ram/cylinder can be rebuilt, although it is often just as easy to buy a new or remanufactured unit. The valve at the end of the cylinder can usually be cleaned up and reused, but there are rebuild or replacement options for this as well. Hoses are generally reused unless they are cracked or otherwise damaged. The bushings and the protective sleeve at the end of the hydraulic cylinder must always be replaced. These are inexpensive and tend to degrade often.

Other than the steering box, the idler arm probably has the greatest influence over the feel of the steering because it is the part that keeps the rest of the steering links stable and properly located. If there is excess wear in the idler arm, it will be magnified throughout the rest of the system. These are easily obtained and replaced, but regular and proper lubrication can usually prevent the need for a new one any time soon, in most cases. The other steering links can be reused as long as they do not exhibit excessive wear/play. Minimal play is crucial to setting/maintaining wheel alignment.

We replaced some of the steering system components in this photo. The hydraulic cylinder (left) came with new bushings and a new sleeve, but we wanted to show these parts are available as a separate kit (top) as well. The inner tie rod ends shown are an improved design that are stronger and more durable than the original parts. They also have grease fittings and improved material grease seals to further extend their service life. The steering coupler (bottom) also is an improved design.